Incentive compatible mechanism for coordinated temperature control in multi-occupant buildings

Minimizing the total energy consumption (cost) and maximizing the aggregate comfort across all building occupants, are two major objectives that must be balanced for effective environmental control in multi-occupant buildings and other shared spaces. Energy cost function for a given building is generally available (or can be measured/estimated) but information on the comfort ranges/functions are held privately by the occupants. In this work we present a game-theoretic (auction) mechanism, that requires occupants to “purchase” their individualized comfort levels beyond what is provided by default by the building operator. The comfort pricing policy is incentive-compatible in the sense that it elicits truthful comfort feedback from rational occupants acting only in self-interest. The declared (or estimated) occupant comfort ranges (functions) are then utilized by the building operator (HVAC system operator) - along with the energy cost information - to set the environment controls to optimally balance the aggregate discomfort of the occupants and the energy cost of the building operator. We use realistic building model and parameters based on our test facility to demonstrate the convergence of the actual temperatures in different zones to the desired temperatures, and provide insight to the pricing structure necessary for truthful comfort feedback from the occupants.